This post contains affiliate links and I received compensation for this post. Can I just tell you how excited I am about the new Cricut Joy machine that will be available March 1, 2020?  As a cardmaker, my craft room is usually pretty messy.  I use every inch of table space (and floor space), so there's not much room for bulky machines.  The new Cricut Joy is just what I've been waiting for!!  Keep reading to learn why Cricut Joy will be your new best friend! Cricut Joy WHAT IS CRICUT JOY? Cricut Joy is a brand new, compact machine from Cricut.  It has so many features that you're going to love.  Cricut Joy is small enough to keep almost anywhere, but still gives you many of the same functions as a full size Cricut machine. WHY DO YOU NEED THE CRICUT JOY? Even though I feel like Cricut Joy is great for everyone, it is especially perfect for cardmakers due to it's compact size.  It fits in a cubby, sets up instantly, and packs away easily.  It's

Welcome to a new Cards By Kendra blog post!   Today I wanted to share with you this cute "Welcome Baby" card that I made! If you saw my last blog post, you'll notice I used the same background since I've been experimenting with Distress Oxide inks.  I wanted to try using a different giraffe stamp this time.    This was the first time I've ever used a digital stamp and I am totally thrilled with the results!!  This cute heart spotted giraffe digital stamp is from Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps.  I printed it on #80 Neenah Solar White yardstick and colored it using  alcohol markers    The background was made with the  giraffe stencil from Whimsy Stamps . I taped the stencil to the back of a sheet of 4"x6"  photo paper  and applied  Distress Oxide ink in Walnut Stain  using a Picket Fence Life Changing Blender Brush .  I immediately removed the stencil and wiped it with a wet paper towel to remove the cloudy pigment coating. I trimmed the photo pap

Welcome to a new Cards By Kendra blog post!   I'm excited to share this handmade card that I made for National Sibling Day (coming up in April), which is one of the March 2020 card swap themes for the Facebook Group "Card Swaps for All Seasons".   The main products that I used for this handmade card are from  © Stampin' Up! and Whimsy Stamps®️.   The background was made with the  giraffe stencil from Whimsy Stamps . I taped the stencil to the back of a sheet of 4"x6"  photo paper . I first attempted this background using Distress Oxide ink in Walnut Stain on distress paper (see video below). Once I sprayed it with water, it wasn’t really the look I was going for, so I tried it on photo paper. It went on great but once it started to dry, it had a cloudy film on it. (This is due to the pigments in the oxide ink). When I wiped it with a wet paper towel, I was amazed!! It was exactly the look I wanted. I figured out that if I used just regular di

Welcome to a new Cards By Kendra blog post!   I'm excited to share this bright and colorful handmade card that I recently made for a "kite" themed card swap in the Facebook Group "Card Swaps for All Seasons".  The products that I used are from the  Fly a Kite stamp  set,   Fly a Kite die set  and the  Sunshine Scene die set  from Hello Bluebird.   Sunshine Fly a Kite Handmade Card I ran the sunshine scene die through my die cutting machine four times.  The first was on yellow glitter paper, the second with white glitter paper, the third on regular white card stock and the fourth on blue glitter card stock. I used the white glitter paper as the border and glued it on to the 110# Neenah Solar White cardstock base .  I glued on the yellow and white sun rays with Tombow Adhesive .  The cute raccoon and mouse critters were stamped with Staz-On ink and colored with alcohol markers . I used 3D foam adhesive  to attach the critters and the sentiment "

I wanted to share these lip balm gift tags that I made a few weeks ago using products from My Favorite Things .  I thought these gift tags would make the perfect inexpensive gift to give to my students on their birthdays.  I also made some to give to the young women at my church on Valentine's Day.  I found several lip balm packs on eBay in candy flavors, so I thought they would love them in these cute little gift tags!!  Keep reading for instructions on how to make your own DIY lip balm pouch gift tags! Valentine's Day Lip Balm Pouches I started out making these lip balm gift tag pouches with 110# heavy-weight white card stock, placing the Sweet Treat tag next to another 3" wide tag that I had in my stash.  I knew I'd be making multiples of these cute little gifts so I was trying to save time.  I placed the lip balm window die 3/4" away from the edge of the Sweet Treat Die while also placing the rip strip in the center of the other stitched tag die to

Hello again!  I wanted to share with you the "Landscape" card that I made for the Facebook group card swap "Card Swaps for All Seasons" in February 2020. I started out with watercolor paper  cut down to 3.75" x 5".  Using watercolor pencils on dry paper, I colored with yellow, orange and light blue in light shades using the pencils at an angle.  I then took a watercolor aqua pen to create a sky effect. I let this dry overnight. It was a little warped so I placed a book on top of it and let it sit another 24 hours. I created the mountains in layers using three different colors from Stampin' Up!©:  Soft Suede, Crumb Cake & Early Espresso and the stamp set "Waterfront".  I added Distress Ink in Peacock Feathers on top of the light blue watercolor background to create the ocean. This card was finished with a "Happy Father's Day" die cut out of soft suede cardstock (which also frames the watercolor paper cut to 4"

Hello! I wanted to share with you my first ever attempt at using embossing markers! A few months ago, I signed up for a card swap in a Facebook group called "Card Swaps for All Seasons".  For the month of February 2020, I signed up for 8 different cards.  This post highlights the first card I made. The theme for this card was Art Impressions "Girlfriends".  We could use anything as long as we used any of the Girlfriends stamps by Art Impressions.  I chose the Picture Perfect stamp set .  I just love the stamp of the group of women taking a selfie.  I can totally relate to this stamp...and the sentiment! This reminds me of my friends! I knew I wanted to color this card with my alcohol markers but I wanted to try something different and make the outfits stand out a bit.  I didn't have very many embossing powder colors so I thought I'd try out these embossing markers in primary colors by Marvy (unfortunately, they are discontinued now but I was able to fi

Hello friends!  In January 2020, I joined a Facebook Group called "Card Swaps for All Seasons".  The admins of this group create events each month that members can sign up for to create cards in different themes.  They assign you a partner and you send the cards to your partner by a certain date. I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into at first.  I signed up for five different cards ~ not knowing how much time it would take me!  I've been making and saving handmade cards for consistently for many years, so I thought I would surely have some on hand to send out.  Well, it turns out I could only use 2 cards of what I had in my stash.  I had so much fun creating these cards since I now have a purpose!  Now that I've done this for two months in a row, I realized that I needed to update my website and start a blog since I will be doing this consistently.  Hot Beverage Card Here's what I created in January: Valentine (Adult) Card with a Bir

Hello!! I am currently working on updating my website and I thought it would be much easier to communicate what projects I'm working on through a blog! So this is my first official blog post on Cards By Kendra.  Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have, any suggestions on what you'd like to see on my blog and/or website, or just say hello!  Thank you for visiting! Kendra Morgan, Crafter